


For a Minute I Was Stone Cold Sober

by shermanerm



Series: Mmmmmagnulia! [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Magnus Burnsides: Lovably Oblivious, really tho he's a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 18:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15824193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shermanerm/pseuds/shermanerm
Summary: It starts like this: Magnus almost dies because of Julia.





	For a Minute I Was Stone Cold Sober

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stonestars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonestars/gifts).



> for han, who loves magnulia enough that she started reading it before being entirely awake

It starts like this: Magnus almost dies because of Julia.

Well, not  _ because _ of her, but because he keeps  _ looking _ at her. She’s done something different with her hair, and her smile is so sweet, and she laughs a little when he makes a good joke, and-

Magnus falls off the bridge.

Luckily, someone casts Feather Fall, and Magnus hits the ground safely, still clutching the engraved staves they had been bringing to the Wizard’s College. Julia, a hundred feet above, laughs through her panic.

* * *

It starts like this: Julia gets Magnus a job.

She’s watching him examine the intricately carved leg of an end table they’re delivering, and Magnus can feel his ears turning red. He can’t stop looking at the beautiful craftsmanship of the little flowers carved into the mahogany, the vines trailing up and down the whole of it. It’s incredible, and he tells her as much.

When he finally looks up at her, she’s got her eyes on the table too, looking at it in a new light. “You know a lot about wood, Magnus.” Her lips twitch in a smile, as they both acknowledge the very bad joke that could have been made. “Have you ever considered carpentry?”

Magnus laughs a little. “No. I’ve never even built anything before.” The words feel hollow to him, a little, but he pushes that aside.

Julia considers something, head tilted. “Would you like to?”

“Huh? Oh, um, sure! I’d love to, as long as your dad wouldn’t mind?”

She just smiles at him and lifts the end table into the wagon.

A few days later, she pulls him into the workshop, a pile of inexpensive wood and equipment ready. They’ve built half a lopsided bookcase by the time Steven finds them, laughing and shushing each other in equal measure.

Despite the fragile state of the shelving, Steven pulls Magnus aside the next day to talk about an apprenticeship.

* * *

It starts like this: Julia saves Magnus’ life.

They’re at a bar, and someone makes a crude joke at another person’s expense, and Magnus has never been the type to let that slide. He calls the man out, stands up when he doesn’t take it back. Magnus doesn’t try to use his size to intimidate, but he will if it gets this guy to shut the hell up.

The man stands up too, a full head taller than Magnus. He cracks his neck and grins down, front tooth chipped. “You wanna do something about it, little man?”

Magnus steels himself for a fight he might not win, and then blinks down at the man as he collapses to the floor. Julia shakes her hand out next to him, chuckling. “Glass jaw.”

Magnus grins, big and wide and helpless against the onslaught of feelings pushing from the inside of his chest. “Yeah?”

She laughs outright and starts walking to the door. “Yep! And, best part, his nickname is Little Dicky.”

Magnus’s laughter rings through the columns as they leave the bar.

* * *

It starts like this: Julia asks Magnus on a date.

It ends like this: Magnus says yes.

 


End file.
